Stomach illness shuts down Souris school

Souris Regional School in Eastern P.E.I. was closed Friday as officials try to get a handle on a norovirus.

A norovirus can cause vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps and nausea.

The principal said she was hearing reactions from parents about the students and the closure.

"A lot of feedback on the health of their kids. They are violently ill for a short period of time, concern about that," said Anna MacKenzie.

"Generally though, our response has been very positive that this is a common sense move, of course, to finish the cleaning protocol and resume after that."

School officials say about 70 students, or 15 per cent of the school's population, were out sick Thursday, mostly from kindergarten to Grade 6.

Public Schools Branch director Parker Grimmer said that wouldn't include students who went home sick during the day.

'It's very difficult'

Staff started work on cleaning the school Thursday, but found they needed more time.

"We didn't have 100 per cent confidence that that work could be done," said Grimmer.

"So there was a decision made, in the interest of students, that we would do that work, follow through and get that work completed today."

Cleaning staff were working on Friday to ensure they could clean the school from top to bottom.

"Make sure they get to all the high contact surfaces, like our light switches, our door knobs, desks, desk surfaces, phones, thing like that," said Chris Keefe, school safety consultant with the Public Schools Branch.

"It is very difficult when you have a population of five or six hundred people also sharing the building to make sure things are done in a systematic way."

School to reopen when cleaning done

All teachers who were well enough are at the school Friday, as well as some staff from the Public Schools Branch.

Evening and weekend events at the school have also been cancelled or moved to other venues.

Classes are expected to resume Monday, but anyone who has been sick is being asked to stay home for 48 hours after the end of symptoms to try and stop the spread of the virus.

The Chief Public Health Office released a statement about the closure and their recommendations regarding enhanced cleaning protocols.

It said there are around 15 - 20 gastrointestinal outbreaks a year on P.E.I.

So far there have been 16 this year, with nine of them confirmed as norovirus outbreaks.

The statement also reminded Islanders that the most effective way to prevent the spread of any infection is by washing hands properly and often.

People exposed to the virus "usually develop symptoms of illness within 24 to 48 hours, but symptoms can occur as soon as 12 hours after exposure," the statement said, adding it takes one or two days for most people to feel better.

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With files from Laura Chapin and Steve Bruce